The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the wrong Samsung foldable to buy this year

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Samsung gave us two very different foldables this year: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra . Both these foldables are aimed at completely different people. The Fold 8 introduces a new direction for Samsung with a wider display, a thinner chassis, and a much more compact feel in the hand. Meanwhile, the Fold 8 Ultra carries forward what the Galaxy Z Fold 7 started, refining that familiar formula.

Here’s the thing, though: you’d expect two completely different form factors to come with equally different feature sets. Instead, they’re remarkably similar, and the Fold 8 Ultra is priced just $200 more than the Fold 8. That’s exactly what got me thinking. For such a relatively small price increase, the Ultra offers enough extra value that it almost feels like Samsung is nudging buyers in that direction.

Now, I’m not saying Samsung literally doesn’t want you to buy the Fold 8 — that’s obviously an exaggeration. But based on how these two phones are positioned, it certainly feels that way. So, hear me out.

Before I explain why I think Samsung is steering buyers toward the Fold 8 Ultra, it’s worth looking at just how much these two phones have in common. On paper, they’re almost twins. Both are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, support 45W wired charging, carry the same IP48 dust and water resistance rating, feature identical selfie cameras, and ship with One UI 9 based on Android 17.

As for the differences, the Fold 8 Ultra has a slightly larger 5,000mAh battery — just 200mAh more than the Fold 8 — along with a more capable camera system, including a 200MP main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide lens, and a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. It also has a sharper display.

Beyond that, the biggest distinction is the hardware itself. The Fold 8 introduces Samsung’s new, wider, and more compact design, while the Fold 8 Ultra sticks closely to the Fold 7’s look, only shaving off another 0.1mm in thickness. Strip away the design changes, and these two phones are remarkably similar.

That similarity becomes even more obvious once you actually start using them. In day-to-day use, the biggest difference I noticed was the way the phones felt in my hand. The Fold 8 slips into my jeans pocket much more comfortably, and I genuinely like how compact and, dare I say, cute it feels when folded.